VP Sara vs. Sen. Risa: On “Iisang Kaibigan”

Vice President Inday Sara Duterte Carpio had a heated exchange with Senator Risa Hontiveros during Tuesday's budget deliberation on the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

Senator Hontiveros questioned each item in the proposed budget and suggested if the same can be given to the line agencies within the executive department. VP Sarah justified that she has the obligation to help the people who approach the OVP. She said that sometimes the endorsement coming from her office will be denied in the concerned agencies. Hence, she asked for her own budget.

Hontiveros manifested that she would make the proper motion to realign the proposed budget of the OVP because she believes that some of its programs are already duplicated with those of other agencies. VP Sarah manifested to submit to the sound discretion of the august body.

The senator’s question that earned the ire VP Sarah was when it reached the item on the ?10 million earmarked for the publication of the book “Isang Kaibigan” (A Friend), which the VP wrote.

In fairness to the senator, her question was plain. The vice president, however, saw a trap in the question. Yes, she could have just proceeded by giving a short description of the book. She did not.

Hontiveros did not say that there was something anomalous in the project. Besides, she is a senator of the Republic, and whether we like her or not, it is well within her task to scrutinize every item in the budget of offices in the bureaucracy. It matters not whether she and the VP have a “history”, in the words of Sen. Grace Poe, who also admitted that everyone has a history.

As regards book reading, I believe that, more than ever before, there’s a real need to inculcate in our people the love for reading. And there’s no better time to do that than during the early stage of a person’s life or his/her childhood. That is how a good habit develops. Besides, it is difficult to teach old dogs new tricks.

The intention of the VP to make the children, particularly in remote areas, read good stories is good. However, the senator's question as to the content of the book is within the context because the publication of the same will use the people's money.

The camp of the vice president is quick to point out that the book she wrote is not for voters but for children, implying that there's no advanced campaigning in the effort. However, the VP's name is on the book, which her critics according to her complain about.

For now, we will just wait and see how much budget will finally be allotted for the OVP. Let's see how they deal with the ?10M publication budget of the said book. Is it worth it?